My solo trip to MOALBOAL 🏝️

Last year, I made a promise to myself that I would solo travel for at least 1 trip a year 😆 So for my birthday this year, I decided to travel to Moalboal 🫧 As a lover of all things ocean & beach (I’m a Pisces — can you tell?), Moalboal was the perfect balance of serenity and fun in the Sun ☀️

I chose to do 5 days in Moalboal because I’d never visited the area before! I wanted to do a little exploring as well as a free and easy trip with no timeline.

𝙂𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚

Getting to Moalboal from Mactan-Cebu International Airport is rather challenging. I had to take a Grab from the airport to Cebu South Bus Terminal and catch a bus there to Moalboal. The total bus ride was about 4 hours so I only reached my Airbnb at night 😅 You can take a taxi directly but because Grab is unavailable in Moalboal itself, you will get quotes of about SGD60! I did enjoy the bus ride because the views were amazing and it was airconditioned 🌨️ I think it helped that I romanticized it too 😆 Anyway, if you hate long rides I promise the journey will be worth it because Moalboal is a dream ~

𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

The Airbnb I stayed in was Purple Hearts Guest House (see pic 10) 💟 It’s beautifully quaint and owned by Genevieve, who is a superb host by the way. She was very accommodating to my (super) late check-in and was constantly checking in with me throughout my trip! The location is amazing and only 5 minutes away from Panagsama Road where there’s the beach, restaurants and massage parlours 🤩 There is also a 24 hour convenience store open just down the road from it.

𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨

I booked all my activities during the trip itself! There is definitely no need to book beforehand because it’s way cheaper booking it directly from the locals, and there are always slots available daily.

The first activity I booked was canyoneering. It included hotel pickup, dropoff as well as lunch 🐥 I think I paid about SGD54 for it! On the day itself a large Tuktuk will come fetch you from your hotel and take you to the canyoneering office which is around the Badian area. As I was a solo join-in they also stopped to pickup a few more people before setting off. From Moalboal to Badian it was a 20-30 minute drive. When you reach the office they have lockers available to rent where you can place your belongings! So there is no need to buy a waterproof bag (just saying because I bought one specially for this activity🤣). Then, you’ll have to sign an indemnity form and they suit you up (helmet, life vest and beach shoes). I recommend wearing your own hiking shoes though because the rocks in the canyon are quite slippery with thin gaps, so wearing hiking shoes would prevent your feet from getting caught in between them! But the water would definitely weigh your hiking shoes down as well. As for how challenging the activity itself is I would rate it 8/10! I do like to think I am quite active but I did not realise how much hiking I would have to do during this activity 🤣😅 From the dropoff point you’ll have to hike on the side of a steep hillside for about 1.5km. You can also do a flying fox across the canyon instead but you’ll have to pay extra! Then you will reach a resting point (where you’ll presumably wait for the rest of your group if some took the flying fox), where you again will have to hike but this time, downwards into the canyon. Not going to lie this was super steep and quite challenging because it took a good 10-15 minutes too!

Once down in the canyons your mood will instantly be improved because everyone will be having fun in the water 😆 Oh, I forgot to mention I think I got lucky because I got assigned a guide all to myself since I was solo-ing ~ The guides are all super helpful and encouraging! There are some points in the canyons where you have to slide down backwards or jump (don’t worry they have different difficulties to choose from), and my guide would ask me every time which difficulty I want to do and he made sure I got A LOT of pics and vids (see pics 3 & 5) 🤣 Towards the end I got a bit tired though, especially when the jumps became optional (and much higher). Instead I just chose to relax and float in the cool canyon water ~ At some points my guide asked me to lie on my back and he would just pull me along with him 🤣🤣 When you finish the entire trip (about 3 hours) you get an amazing waterfall view (see pic 4 ft. my guide) 😍 There’s also some spots where you can swing on a rope into the water but you need to add on for that too! So definitely bring a bit of cash along if you’d like to try those ~

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

Snorkeling in Moalboal is super easy and seeing fishes/turtles is almost a guarantee! Due to the unique topography of Moalboal, the shore dips very quickly and deeply, giving plenty of space for reefs and marine life to blossom. You’ll see a lot of vendors advertising snorkeling with words such as ‘sardine ball’ 😆 They are referring to the thousands of tiny little sardine babies swimming around in huge shoals. It’s hard to miss and a wonderful delight to witness in the water ~ I was also lucky enough to spot a sea turtle grazing on some coral 🪸 Since the snorkeling spots are so near the shore, it can definitely get crowded at times, so do your best to keep a safe distance from the marine life! There are many shops leading to the beach where you can book a snorkeling trip immediately with a guide to help you along, but if you’re confident enough you can rent a snorkeling mask and do it on your own 😆

𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙

There are many international as well as local food options available in Moalboal 🍲 It wasn’t difficult to find a good place to eat. My favourite cafe there is Bawud Cafe Moalboal 🥥 I had breakfast there almost every day 🤣 It’s definitely on the pricier side though because it is catered to tourists and digital nomads.

𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩

Renting a scooter is easy and cheap in Moalboal, but because I don’t know how to ride one I used my legs a lot 🤣 It’s definitely easier if you have your own transportation though. Since Grab isn’t available in Moalboal I hitched rides from locals (usually you tip them however much you want) and I got the contact of a Tuktuk driver to call when I needed to go on longer trips. To be honest I found it quite fun 😆 Everyone is very friendly and helpful in Moalboal, that’s why I felt safe enough to hitch rides from strangers.

𝙏𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙨

Okay I was not planning on getting a tattoo in Moalboal… but that’s what everyone says right and then they do it anyway 🤣 I managed to walk-in and get tatted right away at ARAW TATTOO STUDIO ! It’s very near my Airbnb and easy to locate as it’s along the main road ~ Definitely try to message them earlier though to make an appointment, because after me there were a few people who came but they were already fully booked for the day. It’s the only tattoo studio around this area, hence the popularity. I paid about SGD20 for my tattoo (a thin and minimal wave around my ankle) 🌊

𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜

I visited MAW (Moalboal Animal Welfare) twice during my trip to volunteer! You can come just to visit, but if you would like to help out it’s good if you contact them in advance. You will help with chores such as feeding the dogs, walking them, and sometimes showering the puppies too ~ The dogs are all super friendly and were a joy to hangout with (see pics 6 & 7) 💘 Donations are not a must but will greatly aid them because they rely solely on that for their expenses (rent, bills, dog food, medicine, etc.) You can check them out on IG at moalboalanimalwelfareoutpost 🐶

𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨

Okay I’m adding this part because it’s very important to me (interests: beach). If you want to snorkel and do other underwater activities, stick to the beach along Panagsama Road. It’s very rocky and cold 🥶

However, if you want to chill and tan, you NEED to go to White Beach. It’s about a 10-15 minutes drive from Panagsama Road but definitely worth the trouble! It’s the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been to (truly). The sands are smooth and white, the sea is literally so blue and crystal clear (see pic 1). And the best part… not overcrowded! I went back at least thrice 🤣 I also rented a snorkeling mask just so I could peek underwater and look for shells 🐚

𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚

The top recommended place to go for fun in Moalboal is Chili Bar. It’s located along Panagsama Beach and is an excellent viewing point for sunsets (see pics 8 & 9) 🌅 However, I’m not sure if I went too early but there wasn’t any crowd or party 😅 On this trip I was usually up at 7am, so by the time the sun had set I was very tired, hence I didn’t really have any interest to party 😪 Maybe if I’d given it another try! But that wasn’t the main focus for me 🫡

Okay I really hope I didn’t forget to include anything! Moalboal is amazing and I will definitely be back 💓 You can checkout my tiktok for a video montage of my trip 🎬 I will do a post on Bali next 🐥